


Starting Over

by GothicDeetz



Category: Beetlejuice (1988), Beetlejuice (TV 1989), Beetlejuice - All Media Types
Genre: Acceptance, Anger, Anger Management, Apologies, Arguing, Best Friends, Childhood Memories, Dead People, Demons, Enemies, Enemies to Friends, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Families of Choice, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, Friendship, Gen, Ghosts, Happy Ending, Memories, Problems, Promises, Protective, Protectiveness, Rage, Second Chances, Swearing, Talking, Talking To Dead People, Trust, friends - Freeform, stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22855621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothicDeetz/pseuds/GothicDeetz
Summary: Betelgeuse returns to the Deetz-Maitland household hoping to get a second chance from Lydia, Adam, and Barbara.
Relationships: Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Adam Maitland, Beetlejuice & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Lydia Deetz, Beetlejuice & Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Barbara Maitland
Kudos: 26





	Starting Over

Lydia and her secondary ghost parents had been busy pretty much all day, sorting through and putting away photo albums. The now sixteen year-old girl wasn’t expecting that much dust to come off of each and every one of the books that she put away. Just how old were these photo albums? Lydia picked up the last of the photo albums and carefully placed it onto a shelf before turning to face the Maitlands. 

“And I’m done,” she said with a soft smile. “There we go. That’s the last of your photo albums, guys.”

“Thank you for helping Adam and I sort through our old photo albums and putting them away, Lydia.” Barbara floated over towards the sixteen year-old girl and pulled her into a tight hug. “It means a lot to us.”

“You’re welcome.” Lydia returned the female ghost’s tight hug, turning her head to look over at Adam. “Who knew that you guys had so many photo albums.” Lydia closed her eyes and coughed before opening them again and refocusing her attention back to Adam. “And a bunch of extra dusty ones too. Were you guys photogenic when you were alive?”

“Very,” Adam confirmed with a smile on his face. He floated over to join Lydia and Barbara. “People loved taking our pictures. We’ve appeared in the town’s news multiple times.”

“That’s awesome!” Lydia’s Dark Brown eyes were filled with curiosity. “Can I see some of them?”

“Sure, Lydia.” Barbara pulled away from the teenager and floated over to a box filled with old newspaper articles. Pulling a few out, she floated back over towards Lydia and handed her the stack of newspapers. “Here.”

“Thanks, Barbara.” Lydia set the stack of newspapers she was given down and carefully grabbed the top one, looking through it in curiosity.

On the front page of the newspaper Lydia was holding was what appeared to be a picture showing what she assumed was a slightly younger version of Barbara dressed in a sports uniform, standing in the middle of a group of about ten or twenty other girls. 

Lydia glanced over to Barbara, her eyes wide. “Woah, Barbara,” she said, a mixed tone of surprise, curiosity, and intrigue appearing in her voice. “I didn’t know you were athletic. What sports did you play?”

“None!” Barbara laughed loudly, a wide grin appearing on her face. “I was a cheerleader and a gymnast during my high school years.” Her wide grin changed to a smirk. “Why else would I jump off the Sandworm that I rode into the house and land on the floor without injuring myself?”

“Woah, cool,” was all Lydia could say. 

Adam turned to look at his wife, confusion setting in. “Barbara, honey,” he said. “You rode that Sandworm through the house like a trained horse.”

“Woah...” Lydia’s eyes grew even wider. “Barbara, you rode horses?”

“When I was a child, yes,” the female ghost replied with a soft chuckle. “I haven’t gone horseback riding in years. I guess that part of me came into light when I tamed that Sandworm.”

Lydia heard her stomach rumble and she glanced towards a clock situated above the basement door. “It’s almost six,” the teenage girl said. “Do you guys mind if I go out to get something for dinner?” The two ghosts looked at each other before turning and looking back over towards Lydia. Dinner sounded good. 

“Of course, Lydia.” Barbara smiled at the teen.

“We’d like that,” Adam agreed.  


Lydia slowly began to head up the stairs that led down into the basement of the Deetz-Maitland house. But not before turning around and focusing her attention back towards the two ghosts. 

“How about some Pizza?” Lydia asked her ghost parents. 

“Pizza sounds good, Lydia.” Adam smiled at the teenager. 

“Agreed.” 

“Great,” Lydia said. “What type of Pizza would you guys like?”

“I’d like cheese,” Adam spoke up, looking to Barbara.

“Same,” Barbara agreed with a smile.

“So...” Lydia moved to sit herself down on the top stair, eyeing both ghosts. “A large cheese pizza for the three of us to share?”

“Yep.” Barbara nodded.

“Great,” Lydia said. 

She smiled softly at this and turned to go and leave the basement. Adam suddenly remembered something that was super important and the male ghost motioned for Lydia to stop.

“Wait!” Adam shouted, causing Lydia to stop suddenly and turn to face him again.

“Was there something else you needed, Adam?” Lydia asked.

“Yes, actually,” he said, scratching the back of his head. 

“What is it?” Lydia was now eyeing him specifically.

“While you’re out,” Adam said, “could you stop by our Hardware Store to pick up something for our model of Winter River?”

Lydia nodded, then folded her arms. “What did you run out of today?”

“Paint.”

“Paint? Seriously.” Lydia rolled her eyes in annoyance. “I literally got you some of that two weeks ago. How the hell did you already manage to run out of paint?”

“Eh, what can I say.” Adam glanced to the side. “I’ve been busy these past two weeks. Painting some new things I recently added to the model of the town.”

“Alright...fine!” Lydia grumbled. “I’ll get you more paint.” She turned and left, calling over her shoulder, “a large Cheese Pizza and some paint. Got it. I’ll be back soon.”

“Thanks, Lydia!” The Maitlands unisoned.

Lydia entered the Maitland Hardware Store and began to look for the paint Adam asked her to get. Spotting the paint, she walked towards the aisle it was in, picking up some of the paint and putting it into a bag that she had picked up as she entered the Hardware Store. 

“Twelve cans of paint,” she said quietly to herself, standing up and turning to leave the Store. “That should be more than enough paint to last Adam at least another two to three months.”

As she made her way over towards the Pizzeria, she passed by Old Bill, the owner of the Barbershop, and waved to him.

“Hey!” She shouted.

“Heya, Lydia,” he responded, waving back to her. “You out getting more supplies for the Maitlands?”

“Yes,” Lydia said with a sigh, walking towards him. “Adam ran out of paint this morning.”

“Already?” He chuckled. “Out of paint in a little under two weeks.”

“Tell me about it.” Lydia let out another sigh, sitting herself down next to Old Bill. “I got them twelve cans of paint this time so hopefully it will be a while before they run out of that.”

“Heh.” Old Bill looked up towards the sky, leaning back a little. “You know, this reminds me of the day Adam and Barbara first opened their Hardware Store. It was three years ago-.”

Lydia stood up and began to make her way over towards the Winter River Pizzeria. “Do you mind if I stop by to hear that story some other time?”

“Of course not.” Old Bill smiled at her.

“Thank you.”

Around twenty or so minutes later, Lydia exited the Winter River Pizzeria, Single Cheese Pizza in hand and caught sight of Barbara’s cousins. Smiling, Lydia walked over towards the two of them and Big Jane looked to her. 

“Fancy seeing you here, Lydia.” Big Jane rested a hand on the teenager’s shoulder. “Are your father and stepmother still away on their vacation?”

“Yeah!” Lydia nodded. “They are. I think they said that they’ll be back home from their much needed vacation at some point in the next two weeks.”

Big Jane sighed, looking over towards her daughter. “Well then, when they do get back, can you tell them that my daughter and I are going to stop by your house to talk to them?”

“Sure.” Lydia nodded.

Little Jane walked over towards Lydia and stared up at her, causing the sixteen year-old to bend down and look at her, a smile on her face.

“Can you tell them I said hi?” Little Jane asked nervously.

“Of course I can,” Lydia said, standing up.

“T-thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” With that said, Lydia turned around and headed back home, the pizza and the paint in hand.

Lydia slowly pushed open the front door of her house and headed straight inside, completely and utterly exhausted from having to walk and carry a bag full of twelve cans of paint and a large Cheese Pizza all the way back home. She set the bag of paint on the floor beside her and looked around for signs of the Maitlands upon seeing the basement door open.

“Hey guys,” she called out. “I’m back. I got the paint and the cheese pizza you guys asked for.”

“That’s good!” Adam shouted from the kitchen. “Could you please leave the paint on the stairs leading to the attic.”

“Then could you bring the cheese pizza into the kitchen please?” Barbara added.

“Okay!” 

“Thanks, Lydia!” The Maitlands said in unison.

Lydia picked up the bag of paint she’d gotten earlier and hoisted it over towards the stairs, putting it down on the bottom step before going back into the foyer of the house and picked up the large cheese pizza, bringing it into the kitchen. She put it down and looked to Barbara.

The female ghost smiled back at her, floating over to where Lydia was and picking up the cheese pizza the latter brought home. “Thank you so much, Lydia.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Although I just have one quick question to ask you,” Barbara continued, running a hand through her curly, Dark Brown hair.

“Yeah?” Lydia glanced at Barbara.

“You were gone for a while,” Barbara sighed. “What kept you?”

“Oh...uh....” Lydia looked down then refocused her attention back towards Barbara. “When I left your Hardware Store, I ran into the guy who runs the Barbershop.”

“Old Bill?” Adam asked.

“Yeah.” Lydia nodded. “He asked about you two then started to tell me about the day you guys opened your Hardware Store for the first time. I told him I’d stop by another day to hear that story.”

“Oh!” Barbara let out a hearty laugh. “He’s always telling stories. The rest of the residents of Winter River are nothing but tired of that. That’s why he rarely gets any business nowadays. Once he starts to tell a story, there’s a high chance he’s never gonna stop.”

“Why?!” Lydia sounded a bit confused by this. “He seems like a nice guy. I think the residents of this town should give listening to his stories a try. It’d certainly make him happier.”

“I...see,” Barbara commented.

Adam decided to push the subject back to what took Lydia so long to get back with the pizza and the paint. 

“What else kept you?” The male ghost asked. Lydia looked to him.

“Well, when I left the Pizzeria,” Lydia said with a sigh as she turned her attention away from Adam and focused solely onto Barbara. “I ran into your cousin and her daughter, Barbara. Jane says they’re gonna stop by the house in a couple of weeks from now to talk to my dad and stepmom about something. Also, her daughter says hi to you guys.”

“Well,” Barbara said with a smile. “The next time you see her, tell her that we say hi back.”

“Mhm,” Adam agreed.

“I will!” Lydia smiled softly at her ghost parents.

CRASH!!!

Barbara glanced nervously over towards the stairs leading up to the attic of the house. “WHAT WAS THAT?!” She asked. “Adam? Lydia? Did you guys hear that?”

“Yeah,” came Adam’s response. 

“We did,” Lydia continued. “I think that crashing noise came from the attic of the house.”

Barbara stood up and began to make her way over to the stairs leading up to the attic. “I’m going to investigate,” she said with a sigh. “See what that crash was.”

“No, Barbara, honey.” Adam rested a hand on of his wife’s shoulder. “How bout we have dinner first then we’ll go upstairs to check out the source of the crash.”

“Oh...alright.” Barbara sighed.

The first thing that Lydia and the Maitlands saw upon entering the attic of the house was Betelgeuse laying in a heap on the floor. They just stared in shock at him and he looked back towards them, sporting what looked like a clear slight smile on his face.

“About time you guys showed up.” Betelgeuse sighed in relief. “I didn’t want to wait ages.”

“B-Betelgeuse?!” Was all Lydia could say. Barbara and Adam both became protective, standing in front of the teenage girl.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” Barbara growled out in pure rage, her teeth grit. “I HAD THE SANDWORM THAT I WAS RIDING THROUGH THE HOUSE DEVOUR YOU WHOLE!”

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Hold on! Hold on!” Betelgeuse held up a shaky hand. “I have my reasons. A Sandworm showing up and devouring me whole will not get rid of me indefinitely. I’m already dead. If you guys really wanted to rid yourselves of me, then you would have exorcised me, wouldn’t you have?”

“I wouldn’t hesitate to try,” Barbara spat, crossing her arms.

Betelgeuse just laughed and rolled his eyes. “Even if you did, I can stop my own exorcism.”

“What?!” Lydia asked confusedly, scratching her head.

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Barbara said, her rage fading. “How can a ghost stop their own exorcism? Can ghosts even stop exorcisms?”

“Well,” Betelgeuse spoke up. “I managed to stop the exorcism you guys were going through, didn’t I?”

“You did,” came Adam’s response. “But that doesn’t excuse everything you did afterwards. I think you can see why both Babs and I had to get rid of you in the first place, Betelgeuse!”

“I,” Betelgeuse tried to say. 

“Get out of the house, Betelgeuse!” Barbara spat.

“B-but...”

“NOW!!!” Adam growled. Lydia rushed to stand in front of Betelgeuse, holding her arms out in front of him. 

“Hold it,” she shouted. “Leave him alone.”  


The Maitlands just stopped and stood there, staring in complete and utter confusion at their surrogate daughter, wondering why she would stand up for and stop the two of them from forcing an enemy out of the house.

“Lydia?!” Adam asked in a hushed but upset voice. “Why are you standing up for Betelgeuse? He’s... he’s not a good person.” 

Lydia looked to Betelgeuse and smiled warmly at him before turning and focusing her attention back towards Adam and Barbara. 

“I think that he is a good person,” the teen said quietly. “I think that he deserves a second chance. Be nice. Give him another chance. I think he needs it.” 

The Maitlands turned to look at one another before looking back towards Lydia, considering what she’d said for a few short minutes. Finally, Barbara, followed by a nervous Adam, stepped towards Lydia and Betelgeuse, both of the ghosts letting out sighs.

“Alright,” Barbara finally said with a warm smile. “We’ll give him another chance.”

Adam eyed Betelgeuse suspiciously. “Don’t try anything.”

“I promise I won’t,” Betelgeuse said happily, hugging both ghosts and Lydia. “Thanks, guys.”

“You’re welcome,” Barbara squeaked.


End file.
